Melo played two seasons with Syracuse, averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds his sophomore season. After his sophomore season, he declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft and was selected with the 22nd pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

One unconfirmed report from Brazil says Melo died of a possible heart attack.

Translation (via Google Translate): “After 26 years, the Brazilian pivo wing Fab Melo was found dead in his house in judge of outside. The cause may have been a heart attack.”

Melo only played six games in the NBA before moving to the D-League and later to New Basketball Brazil to compete professionally.